Illinois Mesothelioma Worker Injury Case Valuation

This was a very unique asbestos/mesothelioma case. The initial plaintiff was a woman who did not even work at the workplace in question. Rather, she regularly washed the clothes of her husband who worked at the Union Asbestos & Rubber Company. Her contention was that she contracted mesothelioma through the asbestos he brought on his clothing.

Furthermore, she alleged that his employer and other companies knew about the dangers of asbestos and mesothelioma and over thirty years conspired to hide them. According to her, they went so far as to falsify research, pay off publishers, and bribe government officials to conceal the risks. Eventually, the husband joined the suit and added a loss of consortium claim. The defendants denied everything but could not convince the jury that they were innocent of these allegations. They awarded the couple $2,500,000 for the following items:

This case involved a 69-year-old factory worker. He died of mesothelioma after significant exposure to asbestos. Asbestos fibers were a part of the products that his company produced and that he was around everyday at work. After he died, he surviving wife and children brought a wrongful death action on his behalf.

In their complaint, they alleged that his employer should have warned the decedent about the risks involved with asbestos, should have put in place policies and procedures to avoid its exposure, and actually concealed the risks from its employees. They sought compensatory, punitive, consortium, and support damages. The defendant quickly denied all claims but as trial approached it looked to settle. The plaintiffs received $5,000,000 in a private settlement.

In this case, a woman claimed that her employer, the Union Asbestos & Rubber Company, were negligent because they did not warn her and intentionally withheld information regarding asbestos exposure and mesothelioma. She was 65 years old at the time of the litigation but had not worked there since 1969 and only worked there for 2 years.

Due to this failure and concealment, she argued that she suffered from mesothelioma and made this the basis for her lawsuit. The defendant disagreed with these claims and claimed it was innocent of negligence and intentional concealment. Furthermore, it denied that any of its actions caused her mesothelioma. After a trial that lasted for almost a month, the jury deliberated for a day and returned a verdict for the plaintiff in the amount of $17,870,000 with the following damages breakdown:

A man and his wife brought this lawsuit. According to him, he was exposed to asbestos in the products he worked with (farm equipment, automobiles, etc.) over a period of almost forty years from 1950 to 1987. Additionally, he used some of these products to remodel his home between 1970 and 1975 and was thus prone to further asbestos exposure in his opinion.

He subsequently contracted mesothelioma and sued for damages related to that disease. His wife joined the lawsuit and added a claim of loss of consortium soon after the complaint was filed. Their allegations targeted the company’s negligent use of asbestos fibers in their products, lack of warnings to their employees about this use and potential danger, and the injuries they subsequently sustained.

The defendant threw the kitchen sink at both plaintiffs and claimed, among other things, that they had no knowledge of the presence of asbestos in their products, that the plaintiffs did not use the products in question to remodel their home, and that the man’s contraction of mesothelioma was an act of God and beyond their control. The jury disagreed. They returned a verdict of $500,000 and found that the defendant company was responsible for his contraction of the disease. They awarded $380,800 to the man for compensatory damages and $119,200 to the woman for loss of consortium.

A 58-year-old man brought this lawsuit against the company he used to work for, the Owens Illinois Glass Company, in Alton, Illinois. He was a forklift driver for the company and regularly cleaned up piping and debris that, in his opinion, contained asbestos fibers. He worked for them from the late 1960’s to the late 1970’s. However, he did not contract mesothelioma until the early 2000’s.

This did not stop him from suing the company and alleging that their negligent actions caused his injuries. His wife soon added a claim of loss of consortium. Unfortunately, the man died soon after trial began so his wife had to continue the action. She alleged that the defendant knew about the dangers associated with asbestos and failed to want its employees.

The defendant denied that he was exposed to asbestos in the course of his employment or that anything he did while working there caused his disease. The jury decided that he contracted mesothelioma due to asbestos exposure while working for the Owens Illinois Glass Company and that the latter was negligent and responsible for the plaintiffs’ injuries. They awarded the couple $16,000,000:

The plaintiff in this action was a 64-year-old roofer. He contracted mesothelioma in 1998. In a subsequent lawsuit, he alleged that he contracted this disease while working as a roofer for a company from 1952 to 1967. His complaint alleged that the materials he handled, and as directed by the company, contained asbestos and that he handled their fibers in the course of working.

He complained that the company knew about the risks involved with asbestos and failed to tell its employees about them or at least remove the products that contained it. The defendant turned around and said that it in fact did tell the plaintiff and other employees about the risks of asbestos and that he was contributory negligent by not using ordinary care.

The jury found for the plaintiff and returned a verdict in excess of $34,000,000. However, the two parties settled for a confidential amount nearly six months after this award was rendered. What is also interesting to note is that the plaintiff’s last demand was $75,000 and the defendant’s last offer was $40,000. The extraordinary nature of the jury’s award is seen in better context after reviewing these sums.

Amount: $898,579County: COOKYear: 1998Injury: MESOTHELIOMA/DEATH

This controversy began when a man died due to complications from mesothelioma. His estate contended that he contracted this disease while working at a factory as a security guard. The company made pipe covering and used a product containing asbestos to cover the piping.

In the subsequent suit, the plaintiffs went on to allege that the defendant knew about these risks and even killed a report that illustrated the connection between asbestos and mesothelioma. The jury found for the plaintiffs and awarded them $898,579.

This case was part of a larger class action lawsuit. The plaintiff was a 19-year-old man who was exposed to asbestos while working for the Owens-Corning Fiberglas Company. He subsequently contracted mesothelioma and died shortly thereafter. His estate sued the company for wrongful death and negligence. The parties settled prior to trial for $15,000,000.

The victim in this case was a 61-year-old man who had worked for the same company since he was 18. He was a pipefitter and boilermaker. After 43 years of work, he died of mesothelioma and representatives of his estate concluded it was caused by asbestos exposure while working. They sued for damages in a wrongful death action against the company.

The defendant company refused to admit to any wrongdoing and claimed that the dangers of asbestos exposure were unknown at the time of his contraction. The jury disagreed and, after a retrial on the issue of damages and a judge’s setoff, the decedent’s estate recovered $516,900.

Enter text from the image above. Please enter the text from the image on the left.

Testimonials

“Too many lawyers try pass you off to another person in their office to answer questions. Not Jonathan. I have already referred some family members to Jonathan for their injury cases. I consider Jonathan both my lawyer and my friend.”- Annie

Jonathan Rosenfeld was professionally objective, timely, and knowledgeable. Also, his advice was extremely effective regarding my case. In addition, Jonathan was understanding and patient pertaining to any of my questions or concerns. I was very happy with the end result and I highly recommend Jonathan Rosenfeld. Michonne Proulx

★★★★★

Extremely impressed with this law firm. They took control of a bad motorcycle crash that left my uncle seriously injured. Without any guarantee of a financial recovery, they went out and hired accident investigators and engineers to help prove how the accident happened. I am grateful that they worked on a contingency fee basis as there was no way we could have paid for these services on our own. Ethan Armstrong

★★★★★

This lawyer really helped me get compensation for my motorcycle accident case. I know there is no way that I could have gotten anywhere near the amount that Mr. Rosenfeld was able to get to settle my case. Thank you. Daniel Kaim

★★★★★

Jonathan helped my family heal and get compensation after our child was suffered a life threatening injury at daycare. He was sympathetic and in constant contact with us letting us know all he knew every step of the way. We were so blessed to find Jonathan! Giulia

★★★★★

Jonathan did a great job helping my family navigate through a lengthy lawsuit involving my grandmother's death in a nursing home. Through every step of the case, Jonathan kept my family informed of the progression of the case. Although our case eventually settled at a mediation, I really was impressed at how well prepared Jonathan was to take the case to trial. Lisa

Enter text from the image above. Please enter the text from the image on the left.

We serve the following localities: Cook County including Arlington Heights, Chicago, and Cicero; DuPage County including Wheaton; Kane County including Aurora and Elgin; Lake County including Waukegan; Macon County including Decatur; Peoria County including Peoria; Sangamon County including Springfield; Will County including Bolingbrook, Joliet, and Naperville; and Winnebago County including Loves Park, Machesney Park, Rockford, and Roscoe.